Victorian butter pats, whether miniature replicas of the china they
accompanied or a whimsical design all their own, are infinitely collectible.

by Mary Dessoie

Although many folks have the desire to start collecting they often become discouraged because of space limitations or the cost involved in establishing a quality collection. Enter butter pats: tiny individual plates for butter that can easily be found across America for under $10. Once created by the leading porcelain houses all over the world, these diminutive plates have been seen on the tables of royalty and presidents, as well as in the homes of fine china lovers everywhere. Rarely manufactured for popular use, they are now considered antique, exquisite each in its own style and a joy to contemplate.

No table was properly set during the Victorian era without small butter dishes. The Victorians loved excess–in the decoration of their homes and clothing accessories–and no where is this more exemplified than in the place settings of the 19^th century dining table. During the age of elegance each category of food required a separate piece of china or silver. Formal Victorian tables were set with a serving of bread, consumed without butter, hidden in the folds of each guest’s linen serviette. If a course required buttering, the servants placed individual miniature plates, approximately three inches in diameter, above and slightly to the left of center of the service plates.

Of course, our great-grandmothers never heard of such a thing as store-bought butter. Butter was usually made at home in the 19^th century. The Victorian ladies labored hard for their spread, creating it in a wooden or stone churn, shaping it with a paddle and squeezing it in order to remove excess moisture. The butter was then put into a mold or shaped into a mound with wooden paddles. The molds usually held one pound of butter. The lady of the house or the kitchen servants, for those who were fortunate to have a household staff, cut the butter into smaller pieces to serve for special dinners or parties. Sometimes the small pats of butter were shaped into unusual forms, such as rosettes, to be even more appealing. The very wealthy might use decorative individual hand-carved butter stamps that featured the family crest or a special design to form an attractive butter display.